Disclaimer: I don't own anything that is a proper noun.


The night had been long, dark, and uncomfortable. Grace had tried to stay awake but had dozed on and off, seated on the concrete floor with her back leaning against the corner of the room. The man had come back once and allowed her a necessity visit to an old but functional and recently cleaned restroom. She had not seen the man again since he had locked her back in this room.

Her long, waking hours were spent with her thoughts. She had recalled the events of the day before. ~

At the school, Grace had not been able to find her phone. She had been sure she had put it in her backpack but decided to check her locker anyway. The other cheerleaders had already left, so she was alone in the locker room. She had started to insert the key in the lock when she had heard a noise and turned around from the locker to see this man standing in front of her. She had been startled and yelped. He had raised his finger to his lips, impelling her to be quiet.

"Looking for this?" he had said while holding up her phone. He made sure she had seen him power off the phone and put it in his pocket. Then he had held up his own phone with a picture already displayed of Steve, unconscious, lying on the floor.

The man had told her that he had her uncle and that she needed to come with him quietly if she wanted him to remain safe. He had instructed her to count to one hundred and then follow him out, to not alert anyone, and to tell her coach that her father was outside waiting for her.

"He is, by the way," he had said to her. "I saw him. But, unfortunately, he's out front, and we're… going out that door." He had smiled at her as he tipped his head in the door's direction.

She had been scared. She had not known what to do, but had decided to do as the man had said. How did he know Danno and that he was there? He had been watching her father. He had Steve, who looked to be hurt, and he knew where her dad was. She had feared for her dad and for Steve. So, she had done as the man had asked. She had willingly gone with him. She hoped her dad wouldn't be disappointed in her. She had made the best decision she could at the time. ~

Steve. Her thoughts went back to her uncle Steve. Where was he? Since she had last seen the man, everything had been quiet. She believed he may have left but she wasn't sure. She made a decision and got up her nerve. "Uncle Steve?" The words came out much softer than she had expected. She wanted Steve to hear her, but not the man. She didn't care. She tried again, more confidently this time. "Uncle Steve?!"

It was still early in the day, but the heat was returning. With her hands still bound, she raised her shoulder up as much as she could to use the sleeve of her t-shirt to wipe away the sweat that was starting to make a path from her forehead to mix with the remnants of her dried tears.

She heard nothing in reply to her call. Still leery of the potential presence of the man, she summoned some of her Williams moxie and hardily banged on the metal wall. "Steve? Can you hear me? Are you there?" Again nothing. Could it be possible her uncle was… no, she would not allow the thought. Maybe he can't hear her, maybe he's too far away, or in a place where he can't hear outside sounds. Maybe he's not even in the same building.

She selfishly hoped he was there, under the same roof. That would make her feel better. She wouldn't want captivity for either of them, but if it had to be, she would want them together. But she was stuck wondering and, for now, she was alone.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Danny checked the clock then removed his gun and holster and powered off his phone. As he was instructed, he placed them both in the top right drawer of his desk and pulled out a notepad. He took just a minute to write a few words, his handwriting shakier than normal. He tore off the sheet and folded the paper three times over and put it in his pocket.

He then psyched himself up to go face his ohana. Not only would he be lying to people he cared about, and he hated that, but he would also be lying to people who read other people for a living. He only hoped he could do a decent enough job that they wouldn't see through the deceit.

As he left his office, he kept his right hip facing away from the others so they wouldn't notice the absence of his gun. He nonchalantly called out, "Hey, guys. I'm going to have to take off for a bit. Can one of you give Steve a ride if I'm not back?"

Chin answered first, "Sure, no problem. Is anything wrong?"

There it is… show time. "Rachel's just having a hard time. I'm going to meet with her and Stan and see if I can help." Was that good enough? Steve gave a face. But he always gives a face. Maybe I should add more. "She says Charlie can tell something's wrong, so she was hoping I could distract him."

"Aw, poor Charlie." Kono sympathized.

"Sure, man, go take care of Charlie and Rachel. We'll stay on this here," Steve assured his friend.

"Thanks. I, uh, hopefully should be back soon. Um, Steve?"

Steve turned back toward Danny from the smart table. "Yeah, buddy?"

"Nothing. Just… let me know if you find anything else."

"Copy that. You'll be the first to know. Send our love. Will you?"

"Copy that." Danny echoed Steve's acknowledgement. Typically, he would do this to be mocking his partner. This time it was riddled with guilt for lying but it was also pacifying to be using Steve's own official jargon. It had a sense of normalcy that comforted him.

Danny tempered his half-jogging pace with half-walking to the parking lot. He was in a hurry but didn't want to blatantly appear so. He looked at his watch as he climbed into his car. He had ten minutes left and sent up verbal curses to the red lights he ran and the slow cars he passed, and grateful 'thank yous' to the green and accommodatingly timed yellow lights.

It had been nineteen minutes since his imposed timer had started when the phone call ended… two minutes past the deadline. He burned some tread off his tires as he slammed on his breaks to turn left into the station's parking lot. He had to pass by the white sedan that was sitting in the pull-through in front of the pavilion. He took the first space he saw and bolted from his car to make it to the Uber driver before he decided give up and leave.

He was late, but he had made it before the driver bailed. The passenger side window was down and Danny grabbed onto that door with both hands, as if he were going to physically keep the car from pulling away. He looked into the car at the driver. "I'm Larry. Are you Mike?"

"That's me. Climb in."

"Man, sorry I'm running late. Thanks for waiting."

"It's all good. Looks like you're in a hurry?"

Remembering his warning. He answered tersely, "Just a little."

They traveled a few miles. Danny was glancing over to see if he could see the driver's GPS or phone giving directions to get a sense of their destination. At not seeing one and trying to not reveal his intentions, he asked, "I guess you know where you're going?"

"Yeah, sure, came through on the app after I arrived."

Okay, so that didn't help and still don't see a phone. "Do you know about how much longer?"

"Eh, probably twenty, twenty-five minutes, depending on traffic. So, tell me, Larry, can I call you that?"

"Um, yeah, that's fine."

"What kind of big plans do you have that you're in such a hurry?"

"Just meeting my daughter."

"I see. Well I hope you have a nice visit."

"Yeah, me too," Danny mumbled. He then reached into his pocket and fiddled with the folded paper there. "So, Mike, have you been doing this long?"

"No, actually started very recently."

"Is this just a side job? Want a little extra spending money?"

"Sure, who doesn't? But I like to meet people, too."

Long, stale, exhausting minutes would go by between each attempt at conversation. Neither participant seemed to be very good at this.

"Do you have any kids?" Danny was feeling him out. Each question was intended to gauge his potential to trust him.

"I did. A son, but he's grown. Haven't seen him in a while."

"Oh… sorry." Danny sensed there was more to the story but felt as though he shouldn't pry.

"It is what it is." Mike seemed resigned to the situation.

The trip seemed interminable and the silent interludes was Danny's unsolicited opportunity for his rationality and emotions to battle, with his emotions finally giving in.

"Look, Mike. I was wondering… do you think you could do me a really big solid?"

"Well, I… I guess? What is it?"

Danny pulled the paper from his pocket and hesitated. He stared at the folded note then decided to give it a shot. "After you drop me off, will you get this to Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett with Five-0?" He held the folded paper so Mike could see it. "Please, don't open it, just get it to him. It's very important. Let him read it then wait for his response. Can you do that?"

Danny worried about his own safety a minute for the amount of time the driver was distracted because he was looking at him instead of at the road, as though he'd been asked to drive his car off a cliff. Danny anxiously glanced back and forth from Mike to the road in front of him, as if he would be able to take control of the wheel if needed. He hoped, at the least, Mike would see his apprehension and snap out of it. It seemed to work. Mike still seemed in shock, but thankfully did reengage with the required attention to his driving. He, however, still did not answer.

Danny went on, thinking he realized the reason for the delay in a response. "He'll pay you for your time," he assured.

Even if the cheapskate wouldn't because he'd probably go off half-cocked first. He still had to tell Mike whatever it would take to get him there.

Mike took the note from Danny. "Uh, yeah, okay, yeah. I'll, uh, just put it right here in my pocket where it'll be safe. Don't worry."

Don't worry? It was too late. Danny was already worrying. He wondered if he'd just made a Kamekona sized error in judgment. He had violated the specific instructions Killian had given him, well, not technically. He reasoned that he hadn't actually spoken to his driver about the situation. However, the deed was done now and he just needed to let it play out.

Danny wasn't too surprised to see they were in the Kailua area, not far from the now-infamous Shady Breeze motel. They had come in from the other direction, though, so he did not see the place of origin for this nightmare he was involved in. The car made its way behind a shopping center, of all places, and turned onto a narrow, neglected road that led to an inexplicably hidden structure. The large size and rounded Quonset-like roofline immediately revealed its originally intended purpose.

"Wow. I'm surprised you knew how to find this place." Danny tried to be lighthearted to ease his own anxiety. His thoughts went to Grace. He didn't know why this lunatic, Killian, was bringing him here, but he didn't care if he could just get a chance to get Grace to safety. He spoke to Mike without taking his eyes away from the building, looking for movement but mostly absorbing the place that could hold his daughter. His heartrate was up and his breathing was irregular.

Danny slowly climbed out of the car but peered back in the open window to appeal to Mike one more time. "You'll keep your word? …on the paper? Ask for Commander Steve McGarrett," he reiterated.

"Trust me. Today's your lucky day."

A sick feeling of realization gripped Danny and his world momentarily stopped spinning.


~to be continued~

\,,,/BronsonL